I'll add to the chorus that work is amazing in LA right now. I do a lot of work with nonfiction, and I'm seeing a golden age of documentary storytelling right now, and lots of demand and opportunities for longform nonfiction and documentary series at the moment. I love how places like Netflix and its kin are opening up all these new avenues for high end nonfiction.

I can't speak to owning a big facility or expansive dubstage, but I imagine there is a paradox in that you probably want to operate in a city like LA, NY, or London where so much of the work is being done, but also in those cities the real estate is so goddamn insane these days that you see a lot of the big facilities closing down as their properties get bought out for real-estate deals/non-sound-related business reasons.

But there is a lot you can do in a medium sized lower-overhead modern studio space though with the tools and technology we have available these days and it will sound amazing. However I will taper that by saying as much as I love my studio, and I'm fortunate to be busier than ever right now, my favorite part of the theatrical process is still and always will be going to a full sized dubstage for the final mix, and there are always pangs of sadness when I see a renowned major shop close its doors.

Before my mentor closed his studio I got a chance to sit in on a remote production. The director was in NY, the voice over talent was in LA and we were sitting in Cleveland with video feeds going to both locations. I think with all the high speed internet connections it is not going to be too long before this becomes the norm and no one will have to go to NY or LA to do post production work. I see in the "POST" magazine that more and more "Dailies" are being done via satellite and high speed fiber. I can see the day were people are working collaboratively with their peers who are spread out all over the world. It is not too far off. FWIW

For VO and ADR, yes. For mixing, sitting in a room together bouncing ideas off each other, when it's the kind of project that needs it, can't be created with high speed internet. We have high speed internet now and the thought of 3 to 6 people on video conference trying to mix is not appealing in the slightest....

Whether the demand and budget will always be there for that specific interaction is another question.

For VO and ADR, yes. For mixing, sitting in a room together bouncing ideas off each other, when it's the kind of project that needs it, can't be created with high speed internet. We have high speed internet now and the thought of 3 to 6 people on video conference trying to mix is not appealing in the slightest....

Whether the demand and budget will always be there for that specific interaction is another question.

Rob Walker AMPS

Fully agreed. I do a lot of my work remotely or unsupervised, but the final mix always has clients in attendance and in the room, and I don't want that to ever change. Mixing is a living breathing collaborative thing, and works so much better when your director is physically present. So much of sound is abstract and ethereal and based on feeling and emotion it's harder to convey that over the internet. Even just 'a little bit louder' is pretty subjective if you are trying to do it over email. Plus you want to make sure your clients are listening to the best monitoring possible with you which is usually the dubstage (or at least your studio which should sound better than their offices).

But yes, for VO, ADR, and many other parts of the chain that happen before the final mix remote collaboration with the tools and internet speeds we have now is pretty amazing, I love that. But I'd always want my clients in the room for mixing. I feel lucky that a lot of my clients are from out of town or out of state and they will travel to me for the mix, but I also know that being in LA makes that travel easier because they can not just come here for me, but they can also do their color and all their post finishing and laybacks here while they are in town. Maybe someday I'll have enough gravitas to find a pretty quiet patch of nature and build a nice stage out there away from the hustle and bustle, but for now being in a major post town has definitely helped with the client draw, even if the clients don't live here themselves.

But LA has a big problem or should I say problems.
The traffic has always been bad but now its reaching all-time highs or should I say lows.
The city has green-lit MANY (too many) large construction projects. And the infrastructure just cant handle it. Electric, Sewer, water, parking and of course a 14~16 hour rush hour traffic. The fact is that we will see many pros move out. Oh and the homeless problem here is a national disgrace and I have to think that walking through all the trash will have to impact the marketability of this city.

Many movies are shot in right-to-work states and the post and finishing comes back to LA. New York already had their real estate issues and saw the closing of MANY recording studios and post facilities. If I can edit in Nevada or Utah or Arizona and have a pretty stable financial structure then I have to believe that's where a lot of business will go. As I see it, LA seems pretty phukd for the future.

Granted, its been good to me but I've seen many of my highly-skilled colleagues lose what would be considered rock-stable jobs. ....Even Dolby with their best stock prices in years lays off half their Dolby Cinema Support engineers....and right after they sign a terrific deal for Apple TV. It's what's happening. I just don't have to be happy about it!